Domain names are in high demand these days, so much in fact that internet thieves are looking to steal them. Domain hijacking is increasingly on the rise and Network Solutions has been the biggest victim. Known as the largest and oldest registrar, Network Solutions recently reported that they have been thieved for hundreds of domain names. So how did this happen? Similar to how unscrupulous individuals purchase web hosting to distribute malicious code, domain thieves masquerade as administrative members of targeted companies and use that authority to modify the ownership of domains.

Domain hijacking could prove to be time consuming and costly. You may have to spend countless hours, days or weeks trying to prove that it is indeed your name in order to recover ownership. More determined thieves may also compromise the server associated with your domain. This could negatively impact business as traffic could be redirected away from your site. If thieves are clever enough to redirect your email server, they can actually distribute messages in your name, tarnishing the integrity of your business. Simply put, having your domain is something that can place your business in great jeopardy.

The recent wave of domain theft has exposed major security vulnerabilities in today’s registration system. Representatives at DomainCaddy have declared that 80 to 90 percent of all domain names are at the risk of hijacking, including those belonging to active internet businesses.

Prevention

There are a few ways to minimize the risk of having your domain stolen. You can start by selecting the highest level of security for your domain registration account. These services are offered by many registrars for an additional fee. If you already have a name registered, contact your registrar by phone and ask them to upgrade the level of security on your account. You also want to make sure that no changes are made without your consent. The registrar should contact you by phone or email confirming that you want these changes to be made.

If you are looking to purchase your first domain name, it is a good idea to choose a registrar that offers a “hijack-proof” security service. Register.com is one such company that charges $99 for the “Domain Lockdown” service. With Network Solutions having been exposed for vulnerabilities, you should request the encrypted password option when registering a name with them. You can also choose their PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) account option. Both of these are far more secure than the standard “MAIL-FROM” option.

You should never use a Not-Care or After-Update service option to manage your account. According to the Network Solution notification policy, you will not receive notification of changes to your account until after they have been made. To avoid this, choose the Before-Update option that assures all changes go through you first for authorization.

Conclusion

Domain theft is an alarming situation to say the least. This is a huge concern for active domain owners and especially for those planning to build a website. You can began to practice prevention by making yourself away of this growing crime. The best protection lies with choosing a reliable domain registrar and purchasing the best security possible for your account.

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What do nearly all high ranking websites have in common? As a search engine marketing consultant, I am confronted with the task of evaluating the inbound links of thousands of websites each month. In doing so, I have come to the realization that top ranking websites continue to pay for links despite Google’s public disapproval. Google’s minimalistic efforts to combat paid link building force ethical search engine marketing companies to buy links in order to compete. If done poorly, paid linkers run the risk of having short-lived benefits and potentially harmful consequences. The following tips will help you identify paid links that have positive and long-lasting results on search engine optimization efforts.

If a website requiring payment for a link is less of a directory, and more of an informational resource, Google is unlikely to detect and/or punish website owners for purchasing links from them. Furthermore, it is important that the sale of links be done discretely. A website that does not include a rate sheet for purchasing links is very unlikely to be detected by Google. It takes too much time for Google’s quality control team to pose as website owners and obtain incriminating information. Lastly, I advise against paying for links in directories that offer to submit your link to other directories. These services are Google’s primary targets.

Say I want to be number one for the phrase, “Portland Search Engine Marketing.” I would type this phrase into Google and begin looking for websites that I can get links from. One of the top results is a .org website for a Portland search engine marketing association. If I become a corporate sponsor I can get a link to my blog placed on the right side navigation of this relevant, nonprofit website. It is highly unlikely that Google will ever combat this form of paid linking because membership in a professional organization is a sign of credibility and you are paying for membership rather than a link.

Scrolling down to the bottom of the search results for, “Portland Search Engine Marketing,” I noticed the freelance designer directory. This directory is pretty blatant about selling links, yet Google does nothing about it. Some indicators that this is one of the safer directories are that a free, nonreciprocal option is available, there is an abundance of relevant text, it ranks on the first page for competitive key phrases and Google approved them for AdSense. Getting credit from this site may be short-lived because they are breaking Google’s rules by charging for links and not using the “nofollow” element. However, it is unlikely that websites with links from this directory will get punished because Google will also be punishing those who opted for a free listing.

Since implementing efforts to combat paid linking, Google has done a lousy job of making paid links obsolete. At the current rate, Google will be able to detect intelligent link buying in approximately… never. I consider myself to be an ethical search engine marketing consultant because Google’s unenforceable rules are less important than my ethical obligation to generate leads for my clients. Whether or not their opinions are publicly stated, I can say with confidence that nearly all reputable search marketing companies take part in paid link building. If you don’t believe me, analyze their inbound links.

David Brown is a search engine marketing consultant with Westhill Media.

Copyright Vandelay Website Design.

1. There’s no exact formula.

Unfortunately, there’s no right or wrong way to price your services. Every designer needs to develop his or her own method for pricing, and even then, you probably won’t be able to follow the same formula on every project. Because each job will be different, it’s difficult to develop a method that will work well every time.

2. Both hourly pricing and project-based pricing have pros and cons.

Everyone has different ways of doing things and this is very evident by the information that you will see about how you should base your pricing. Some, like Matt Griffin, feel that you shouldn’t charge by the hour. In general, project-based billing is more common than hourly rates, but that is somewhat of a gray area. Following Matt’s article, Intervals posted 7 Reasons You Should Charge by the Hour .

Here are some resources for choosing a pricing strategy:

• What You Should Charge and Why You Should Stick to Your Price - Positive Space
• Trading the Hourly Rate for Task-Based Pay: Should You Do It - Freelance Switch
• Deciding When to Use Project Pricing - Wake Up Later

3. Pricing is a necessary part of freelancing.

I think most designers would like to focus on the work and forget about things like pricing. Unfortunately, if you’re freelancing it’s a necessary evil. Whether you like it or not you will have to deal with the issue. For many of us it’s something that we’ll never really enjoy, but we need to at least become comfortable with it. Freelancers where a lot of hats, and pricing is just one of them.

4. Mistakes are a part of the process.

I think everyone has at some point gotten themselves into a position where they wish they could go back and set a different price. In some cases you may be justified to increase the price do to changed circumstances or additions by the client, but this may not always be the case. If you’ve made a mistake in pricing, realize that it’s normal and learn from it. The more you learn from your experience the less of a guessing game it will be.

5. Your prices will affect your own outlook on your services and it will also impact your client’s opinion of your services.

When you see a low-priced designer what’s the first thing you think? He or she must not be very skilled or experienced, right? It’s pretty obvious that your prices will impact the mentality of your potential clients. Some will only be looking for bargain-basement pricing, but others will be measuring you by what you charge, whether they realize it or not.

However, your prices have a bigger reach than just the opinions of your clients - they also impact your view of your own services and abilities. By pricing your services very low you’ll eventually convince yourself that you’re not worth more. On the other hand, pricing your services high (and being able to land clients) will give you the confidence that you can be an elite designer. Of course, your mental approach can only take you so far, but it’s my opinion that this plays a role in your success based on your perception.

For more on this subject see my post at Freelance Switch, The Subtle Effects of Pricing on the Mentality of Clients.

6. Uncertainty is Common.

Freelancers who have been designing and pricing services for years may have the whole thing down, but if you’re feeling uncertain about pricing, don’t feel like you’re alone. Most freelancers struggle with pricing, so being uncertain doesn’t mean that you’re inferior. Take the time to educate yourself (some of the links in this post should help) and keep working on developing a better system or model.

7. The variety of prices is as wide as the variety of talent levels.

Just because you see another freelancer pricing services ridiculously high or low, don’t feel like you have to do the same. Anyone can sell web design services. Some are not very talented or experienced, and some have unbelievable abilities and incredible experience. Most are somewhere in the middle.

While clients may argue by comparing your prices to another freelancer, be ready to backup your pricing strategy be explaining why you are worth what you are charging. You can find someone willing to do the job for just about any price if you look hard enough, but in general, you will get what you pay for.

8. Losing a job isn’t always a bad thing.

Newer freelancers are often tempted to price their services at whatever level will get them the job. If the experience and building your portfolio is what’s most important to you at the moment, this might not be a bad idea. Otherwise, if you need to earn enough money to support yourself and your family, losing out on a job because of price may not be a bad thing at all.

We all have a limited amount of time available, and taking a job that doesn’t pay what you need to make isn’t going to be ideal. Hopefully if you pass up on a job because of the price, something else will come along that meets your needs. Taking that low-paying job can hog your time so that you can’t take other opportunities that come along. This is just something that you’ll have to weigh as you go.

9. Pricing can be a good way to weed out the tire kickers.

I think most freelancers get plenty of emails from potential clients who are pretty unlikely to follow through with the project. Typically, these tire kickers are looking for quotes, but they’ll usually have some reason that they don’t want to move forward or they’ll have some hang up on the price.

While it’s understandable that everyone has a price that they can afford and something that they can’t afford, but I’d prefer to identify the tire kickers as soon as possible so I don’t waste too much time answering questions and making no money. One of the downfalls of pricing your services low is that you’ll get more of these types of clients, and they’ll hang around for a while longer. Price your services higher and you’ll find that a higher percentage of your potential clients are serious about working with you.

10. Some potential clients will think your prices are high no matter what you charge.

Some clients will understand what’s involved with designing and developing a website and others will not. Because there are people out there willing to design a website for next to nothing, some clients will think that you should be willing to do the same, even if your service is completely different. Try not to worry about turning clients off, and focus more on proving a service that’s worth the price (and being able to explain why it’s worth the price).

11. Charging more than you quoted may be necessary.

I think we’ve all had those clients that keep adding new things to be done or changing their minds about what they want. When using project-based pricing this can cost you time and money. However, some situations will justify an increase in the price. Of course this needs to be communicated with the client, but it is an option.

Picture this scenario - You take your care to a mechanic and get a quote for repairs. Once they get inside they find that something else is wrong and needs to be fixed for your car to run properly. Are they going to charge more for the additional labor and parts? Yes. Many times the situations you will find yourself in will be similar.

12. Starting out you’ll probably have to charge less than you’d like.

Most freelancers will find that they need to prove themselves before they’re able to land jobs that pay what they would like to make. Building your portfolio and your experience is a natural part of freelancing. Of course, if you’re coming from a design firm where you’ve already established yourself, this may not be the case.

What would you add?

What have you learned from pricing services? Is there anything here that you see differently?

Additional resources for pricing design services:

Factors to Consider When Pricing Design Services - Most Inspired

The Costs of Underpricing Your Design Services - Most Inspired

Is Charging More the Right Thing to Do? - Men with Pens

How Much Should a Web Design Cost? - Pearsonified

Nine Factors to Consider When Determining Your Price - Freelance Switch

The Economics of Web Design Pricing - Ben Bleikamp

Why Your Rates are Painfully Lower Than They Should Be - Freelance Folder

Freelancer Pricing: Finding Your Buoyancy Point - Rubiqube

4 Steps to Effective Web Design Pricing - Tutorialaday.com

Copyright Vandelay Website Design.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not matter what operating system you have on your computer when choosing where to host your site. If your computer runs Linux, you can choose a Windows hosting platform and vice versa. Of course, it would be ideal to have matching operating systems, but you can still enjoy many of the same benefits. Both servers support FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and other technologies which allow you to publish content from your hard drive to the web. Both offer encryption features such as SSL to encrypt your online communications along with compatible email accounts, databases and more.

Knowing the similarities, it is also important to make yourself familiar with the vast differences as well. For instance, if you intend to use Microsoft branded technologies such as ASP, FrontPage, MSSQL or Windows Streaming Media, your website would be much better suited for Windows-based hosting. Trying to operate server-specific scripts and programs on a different platform is often difficult and costly, though it can be done. Fortunately, the most prevalent web technologies such as PHP, POP3 and MySQL are supported by both systems.

In the way of stability, Linux is regarded as being more stable than Windows. This dates back to prior Windows systems such as 95 and 98 that were infamous for the “blue screen” of death. Though annoying, the most severe impact of this common error called for users to restart their machines. Later editions such as 2000 and XP were designed more with servers in mind, adding stability to the Windows brand.

You may enjoy better performance with Linux hosting as well as their servers are rather efficient. There is not a huge difference, but the application processes of Windows have been known to run somewhat slower. Experts believe this is because Windows loads a variety of features into single packages while the implementation of Linux is more simple yet flexible.

Another major benefit of Linux is its open source nature. This allows vendors to use several Linux components for no cost and offers a cheaper web hosting service. Both platforms have had their share of bugs, yet Linux tends to receive fixes quicker because of its large community of designers and users. Windows has to analyze these issues through the entire Microsoft bureaucracy which tends to take longer.

Regardless of what platform you choose, security is always a major concern. Many times this involves the security implemented by a host as well as the website administrator. While Windows has made notable strides with their security, Linux is better known for it’s security-first approach to development.

The Winner Is …

When money becomes an issue, most people tend go with Linux hosting as their first option. The system has established a solid reputation for its reliability and security. The choice of which platform is the best all depends on the needs of your site. In the end, you want a web host that is best suited for the goals you plan to achieve. With that said, the operating system being used should be one of the last things you consider for web hosting - Linux and Windows both provide exceptional service.

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For example, if you are looking for the best budget hosting company, they have a page that is exclusive to listing the most affordable webhosting companies. If you are looking for the webhosting company with the best PHP hosting, they will also offer that. With such specific reviews, you can pin point the best plan for your website projects.